Drinking receptacle



Nov. 25, 1958 M. J. KRAMER DRINKING RECEPTACLE Original Filed May 14,1948 FIG- INVENTOR. Matthew J. Kramer BY M A'IZT ORNEY DRINKINGRECEPTACLE Matthew J. Kramer, Denver, Colo.

May 14, 1948, Serial No. 27,022.

Original a plication P 1954, Serial Divided and this applicationDecember 3, No. 472,842

4 Claims. (Cl. 220-90.4)

This invention relates to receptacles, and more particularly to areceptacle adapted to contain liquid and to be used for drinkingpurposes. This application is a division of my copending applicationSerial No. 27,022, filed May 14, 1948, and entitled Drinking Receptacle,now forfeited, of which my copending application Serial No. 528,056,filed August 12, 1955, now U. S. Patent No. 2,815,161, is acontinuation-in-part.

Receptacles such as glasses, cups and the like, adapted to contain wateror a beverage such as coffee, milk, or non-alcoholic or alcoholicbeverage, are generally open at the top and utilized for drinkingpurposes by tipping the same, with the mouth of the user in engagementwith the upper end or rim of the receptacle. When such receptacles areused during airplane flights, or in other conveyances such as trains orautomobiles, the contents are quite likely to be spilled or projectedout of the receptacle, as by a sudden movement of the user, or a suddendrop when the plane hits an air pocket, with the result that thecontents may be spilled over the clothing of the user. Also, whenreceptacles such as beverage glasses are utilized at bridge tables orother places in which a person may accidentally strike and topple thereceptacle over, the contents immediately are discharged, sometimes ontoa persons clothing, or perhaps onto a card table or onto an expensiverug. In addition, cups or glasses for use by infants, particularlyduring early training periods, may be knocked over, waved about, ortipped to a position in which'the liquid wouldordinarily be dischargedtherefrom.

Among the objects of this invention are to provide a receptacle which isadapted to contain liquid and to be used for drinking purposes, but thecontents of which are difficult to spill; to provide such a receptaclewherein access is readily obtained to the liquid contents, as forsfl'rring or placing sugar, cream or the like in a beverage such ascoffee or tea; to provide such a receptacle which is also readily filledwith liquid; to provide such a receptacle which may be made of differentmaterials, and which may take any one of several forms; and to providesuch a receptacle which is relatively readily manufactured and isconvenient to use. Additional objects and the novel features of thisinvention will become apparent from the description which follows.

In general, the principles of this invention may be applied to areceptacle adapted to contain liquid and to be used for drinkingpurposes and the like, such as a cup or glass, and comprises thecombination of a transverse slot in the side wall of the receptacleabove the normal level of liquid, with a partition adapted to extendthrough the slot and substantially across the inside .of the receptacle,the partition being movable in the slot from a substantially openposition to a substantially closed position. The receptacle is alsoprovided with an outwardly extending flange, as at one end of the slot,into which a portion of the partition fits when'in closed position. The

glass may be made of any suit-able material, such as glass '2 orplastic, or even paper, preferably coated with parafiin or other liquidimpervious material. In closed position,

the partition preferably provides a restricted space for the flow of asmall amount of liquid, as in drinking. Preferably, this space providedby the partition is opposite the slot, so that when the cup or glass istipped for drinking, there will be no leakage through the slot, m

case the partition does not form a complete seal at the slot. Thus, inthe open position, relatively free access to the liquid in the cup orglass is obtained, and in closed position, the partition tends toprevent the spilling of the entire contents, or the upward movement orejection of liquid from he cup or glass as a consequence of a suddendownward movement thereof, as when -an airplane hits a downdraft, airpocket or the like. The receptacleand partition may, of course, be madeof different ma--' terials, and the invention may be embodied in severaldifferent forms, example of which are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a drinking receptacle constructed inaccordance With this invention;

Fig. 2 is a top' plan view of the receptacle of Fig. l, partly insection along line 22 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 isa side elevation of a further embodiment of this invention,illustrated partly in section along line 3-3 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the embodiment of Fig. 3;:

and

Fig. 5 is a side view, partly in section to show the interiorconstruction, of a preferred construction of the partition of Figs. 3and 4.

As shown in the drawing, the principles of this inven tion may beapplied to a glass or cup G, conventionally provided at its upper endwith a rim 27, which may flare outwardly, as shown, or may be straight.Beneath the rim 27, and preferably just above the normal level of liquidto be placed in the glass G, is a transverse slot 28, which may extendfor slightly less than around the side wall of the glass G. A partition26 of Fig. 2 or 26' of Fig. 4 is'disposed within the slot 28, and isadapted to be moved from a substantially closed position, shown in fulllines, to a substantially open position, or to an intermediate position.The front side or edge 29 of the partition 26oppo-site the slot 28fmaybe cut square across, .as shown, or may be curved inwardly, as in thecase of edge 30 of Fig. 4, to provide a restricted space through whichliquid may flow during drinking, while the lateral edges 31 of thepartition may be curved to correspond to the curvature of the inside ofthe glass, to provide a better seal around the partition. However, thefront edge may be an arcuate curve having a radius greater than that ofthe inside of the cup at that elevation, or may have a radius morenearly approaching that of the inside of the glass at the elevation ofthe partition, thus leaving a smaller space. The partition 26 maybe madeof any suitable material, such as plastic when the glass or cup G ismade of glass or plastic, or of cardboard or the like when the glassitself is made of paper, so as to be disposable after being used once.

To permit the partition 26 to be moved readily from open position toclosed position, and vice versa, the partition preferably extendsoutwardly from-the glass, even in closed position, thereby forming arear tab 32 which may be grasped by the user in moving the partition tothe desired position. This tab may have the form shown in Fig. 2, inwhich the rear edge is arcuate, or a form in which the rear edge isstraight. Also, a transverse ledge or shoulder 19 may be provided ateach side, to assist in positioning the partition in the slot, byengagement with the inner edges of the slot slightlybefore orsimultaneous- Patented Nov. 25, 1958 1y with abutment of the sides offront edge 29 or 30 with the inside of the cup.

As will be evident, with the partition in closed position, only a smallspace at the front of the cup is open. Thus, upon a sudden downwardmovement of the cup, the cen-. tral spout of liquid, which is normallyejected from the cup, will be restrained by the partition. Although avery small amount of liquid may be ejected through the space at thefront of the cup, this liquid does not tend to be discharged from theconfines of the cup, but rather to flow over onto the partition and thenback into the cup, beneath the partition.

To facilitate movement of the partition from open to closed position,and vice versa, and more specifically to accommodate the curved lateraledges 31 during such movement, the side wall of glass G may be providedwith a radially projecting bulge 33 having an internal groove forming acontinuation of the slot 28, which groove has a greater radius where itadjoins the slot and may extend any suitable distance around the cup. Inthe form shown, the groove inside bulge 33 has a radius of curvaturecorresponding to the maximum outward movement of the adjacent lateraledge 31, so that the partition may be moved either directly rearwardly,or by twisting about the opposite end of tab 32, so as to move thepartition to the dot-dash position 34 of Fig.4, in which it isconveniently held in the slot 28. In either instance, a substantiallyopen position is provided in which access to the interior of thereceptacle is readily obtained, either for filling the same with liquid,stirring the liquid therein, or the like. Also, in the closed position,sudden ejection of the contents is prevented, as explained above. A morecomplete seal around the partition is of advantage when the glass is tobe placed on a table, or other support, particularly where it is likelyto he accidentally dislodged and knocked over. In general, due to theslightly heavier weight of the tab 32, the glass tends to fall with thetab down, so that the spilling of even a small amount of liquid isoftenavoided. Of course, if the glass should be accidentally knockedover and land with the front edge of the partition down, some of thecontents will begin to flow out through the opening. However, a suddenejection of all'the contents is prevented, and the small amount whichmay bespilled ismuch more readily wiped up.

When the cup or glass is used for drinking purposes, the tab 32 alsoforms a convenient ledge under which the uppermostfinger of the user canrest, thereby tending to prevent slippage or droping of the glass. Whenthe glass or cup is provided for infants use, it is normally providedwith a handle, which, of course, would be placed beneath the right handend of slot 28, as viewed in Fig. 2, and in a corresponding position inthe remaining embodiment. The partition 26 may be providedwithadvertising or similar material imprinted thereon. Also, the fiatupper surface of the partition is a convenient place to put marksidentifying a club or the like, or private owner, such as a monogram orother decorative figures.

In the embodiment of Figs. 3-5, the partition 26' is provided with amirror 35 disposed centrally thereof, which enables a feminine user, forinstance, to ascertain the condition of her coiffure, make-up or thelike, While using the receptacle. The mirror 35 may be provided by asuitable black coating on the underside of a glass or plastic partition,although the construction shown in Fig. is preferred, in which aseparate glass mirror 35 is embedded in a plastic partition.

From the foregoing, it will be evident that the drinking receptacle ofthis invention fulfills to a marked degree the requirements and objectshereinbefore set forth. As is apparent, when in substantially closedposition, the partition of each embodiment prevents the sudden dischargeof the entire liquid contents of the receptacle, and minimizes thetendency for any of the contents to be spilled.

This is particularly true in the case of a sudden downward movement, ora sudden downward and upward movement of the receptacle, which wouldordinarily cause the entire contents to be ejected. Also, the amount ofliquid which will be spilled before the receptacle can be righted, afteraccidental tipping or knocking over, is limited. The slot and partitionare preferably spaced below the top of the receptacle, to providesufficient space above the partition to permit the nose of the user toextend into the space while drinking, and thereby avoid tipping the headback an uncomfortable or inconvenient amount.

When in substantially open position, the partition permits ready accessto the interior of the receptacle, as for filling, for stirring thecontents, or placing sugar, cream or the like in a beverage. Thepartition is also readily removed, for cleaning purposes, although heldrelatively tightly during use by friction against the edges of the slot.As indicated previously, a relatively wide range of materials maybeutilized, as well as various different forms and shapes, particularly ofthe partition.

Although different embodiments of this invention have been illustratedand described, it will be understood that features of one embodiment maybe used in another, that other embodiments may exist, and that numerouschanges may be made, in addition to those described, all withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of this invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In a receptacle adapted to contain liquid and to be used for drinkingpurposes and the like, the combination of a transverse lot in the sidewall of said receptacle and, at one end of said slot, a radiallyoutwardly projecting bulge having an internal groove forming acontinuation of said slot; and a partition normally extending throughsaid slot and at least substantially across the inside of saidreceptacle, said partition having a tab extending outwardly from saidreceptacle with said partition in closed position, said partition beingmovable between a substantially open position in which access to theliquid in said receptacle is provided and a substantiallyclosed-position in which said partition tends to limitthe ejection ofliquid from said receptacle as a consequence of asudden movement of saidreceptacle, said partition and receptacle being so constructed andarranged to provide, in said closed position, at least one restrictedopening adjacent the Wallof said receptacle, for flow of liquid duringdrinking and the like.

2. In a receptacle, as defined in claim 1, wherein said partition has afront edge constructed and arranged to provide, in said closed position,said restricted opening for flow of liquid; andsaid partition also hasarcuate convex edges at each side of said front edgeand conforming inshape to the inside of said receptacle.

3. In a receptacle, as defined in claim 1, whereinsaid tab ofsaidpartition is provided at each side with a shoulder respectivelyadapted to engage said bulge and the opposite end of said slot.

4. In a receptacle, as defined in claim 1, wherein said slotextends "forless than around said receptacle.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 324,427Steinbach Aug. 18, 1885 347,398 Towns Aug. 17, 1886 "566,563 .Derr Aug.25, 1896 678,325 'White July 9, 1901 897,458 Dickeson Sept. 1, 19081,231,356 Houge June 26, 1917 1,319,024 Warfield Oct. 14, 1919 1,756,249Kaufman Apr. 29, 1930 2,012,113 Thompson Aug. 20, 1935 2,357,063 SwingAug. 29, 1944

